Note: World Lung Foundation united with The Union North America. From January 2016, the combined organization is known as “Vital Strategies.”
(May 31, 2015, New York, USA) – Today, on World No Tobacco Day, World Lung Foundation (WLF) calls on countries to reduce demand for all tobacco products – particularly illicit trade – by implementing and enforcing strong, comprehensive tobacco control measures. Research published in The Tobacco Atlas and a new analysis posted on tobaccoatlas.org rebuts the idea – perpetuated by the tobacco industry – that tobacco control increases illicit trade. Rather, strong tobacco control reduces demand for illicit tobacco.
Sandra Mullin, Senior Vice President, Policy & Communications, World Lung Foundation, commented: “The countries seeing the most rapid decrease in smoking prevalence are those adopting fully comprehensive tobacco control laws. It stands to reason that citizens are more likely to understand the need for increases in tobacco taxes or the adoption of smokefree laws when graphic warnings on tobacco packs and regular, hard-hitting mass media campaigns have been used to raise awareness of the harms of tobacco to smokers and non-smokers alike. The past year has seen an increase in the number of countries adopting graphic health warnings or running anti-tobacco mass media campaigns.
“A key trend has been an increase across Africa, Asia and Europe in the use of public service announcements (PSAs) featuring the personal testimony of victims of tobacco. We have been humbled and inspired by the courage of these individuals, who make the decision to speak up despite their physical and emotional pain in order to prevent others sharing their fate. Real people telling their own stories helps viewers and listeners realize that tobacco can harm and kill someone just like them or someone they love.
“Interestingly, recent research we conducted in Indonesia suggests that the greatest impact is delivered when the messages in graphic warnings and mass media campaigns complement each-other. Smokers who recalled both the pack warning and the mass media campaign were more likely to discuss and think about the harms of tobacco use both to themselves and the people around them. They were also 1.9 times as likely to seriously consider quitting compared to those smokers who only recalled pack warnings. This suggests a call to action for a more strategic, integrated approach to warning people about the dangers of tobacco to deliver an increase in quitting and decrease in demand for tobacco.”
Welcome progress in the past year
WLF advises governments and health agencies on graphic warning image and message selection, campaign planning, public service announcement design, development, selection and licensing, and provides technical and financial assistance in media campaign planning in order to deliver the most effective results. Countries deploying best-practice interventions with assistance from WLF, or introducing large graphic warnings include:
Africa
A number of countries including Burkina Faso, Chad, Kenya, Niger and Senegal announced their intention to implement graphic warnings on tobacco packs and several are using images from the Africa Graphic Pack Warning Resource. The Resource was developed by World Lung Foundation to provide 72 images, which were rigorously tested among smokers and non-smokers in Africa.
Kenya implemented a national mass media campaign entitled “Tobacco Kills – Quit Now!” to warn people about the harms of secondhand smoke and to encourage smokers to heed the country’s smokefree laws. The Ministry of Health of Kenya (MoH) campaign, which combined TV and radio PSAs and community posters in both Swahili and English, was developed with technical and financial support from World Lung Foundation (WLF).
WLF also provided technical and financial assistance to support the first-ever regional anti-tobacco mass media campaign across Francophone Africa, including nationwide rollout of the campaign in Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Benin. The campaign was designed to warn people about the health harms of tobacco use and the toll cigarette use takes on smokers and their families. It featured the powerful personal testimony of Idrissa, a tailor living in Guinea Bissau, who developed a devastating mouth cancer that left him unable to work and provide for his family. Unfortunately, Idrissa lost his life to cancer shortly after the PSA was filmed.
Bangladesh
WLF provided technical and financial assistance for the design and implementation of a mass media campaign including a PSA entitled “Tobacco is eating your baby alive”, which highlights the dangers of secondhand smoke to children and encourages smokers to quit.
China
WLF provided technical and financial assistance for the design and implementation of a mass media campaign including a PSA entitled “Restaurant”, which highlights the dangers of secondhand smoke to children. This campaign, which airs in Beijing city from June 1st, has been developed to increase compliance with the Beijing Municipal Government’s new smokefree laws.
India
In India, the Sunita campaign featured the personal testimony of Sunita Tomar, a young mother who developed oral cancer through the use of chewing tobacco as dentifrice. The idea of chewing tobacco as an aid for oral hygiene is a common misperception in India, which is founded in tobacco marketing. Sadly, Sunita lost her battle with cancer at the start of April.
A campaign entitled “Clinical” was also broadcast on TV and radio channels in India, showing how exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) causes stroke and heart attack. Both campaigns were developed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with technical and financial support from World Lung Foundation. Unfortunately, a commitment to implement large graphic warnings on tobacco packs has been delayed due to tobacco industry interference.
Indonesia
Indonesia ran a national anti-tobacco mass media campaign for the first time in the past year and this was quickly followed by a second campaign. Both campaigns featured real victims of tobacco telling their own stories. Panjaitan related his story of being a religious man and community elder who was left unable to speak after surgery to treat life-threatening cancer of the larynx – the result of decades of cigarette use. Ike, a mother of two from Surabaya who has been diagnosed with throat cancer, shared her story as a victim of second-hand smoke.
Indonesia also implemented graphic warnings covering 40 percent of cigarette packs in the past year.
Nepal
Nepal is due to become a world leader in implementing large graphic warnings with the introduction of warnings covering 90 percent of tobacco packaging.
Pakistan
Pakistan is due to become a world leader in implementing large graphic warnings with the introduction of warnings covering 85 percent of tobacco packaging.
The Philippines
The Philippines is due to implement graphic warnings covering 50 percent of the front and back of tobacco packaging.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is due to become a world leader in implementing large graphic warnings with the introduction of warnings covering 80 percent of tobacco packaging by June 1st, 2015.
Ukraine
WLF provided technical and financial assistance to help the Ukrainian Advocacy Center “Life” deliver a powerful national anti-tobacco mass media campaign in Ukraine, designed to increase awareness of the specific harms of tobacco to smokers and non-smokers, including increased susceptibility to TB, arterial disease and serious lung disease. The campaign features the personal testimonials of three real-life victims of tobacco, each of whom features in their own 30-second PSA.
Vietnam
WLF provided technical and financial support to the Vietnam Steering Committee on Smoking and Health (VINACOSH) for a national mass media campaign calling for high tobacco taxes to help to deter Vietnamese youth from starting to smoke. The PSA ran on television and online, featuring new graphic health warning images on cigarette packs in Vietnam to graphically illustrate the serious health effects of tobacco use.
Research has shown that mass media campaigns are one of the most effective means to encourage people to stop smoking. It is one of the World Health Organization’s M-P-O-W-E-R (W=Warn) strategies to reduce tobacco consumption. MPOWER strategies are endorsed and promoted by the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, of which World Lung Foundation is a principal partner.